


From Masayoshi to Lisa

by Zinthezinner



Category: BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Childhood Friends, Coming Out, F/F, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-11 15:10:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17449349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zinthezinner/pseuds/Zinthezinner
Summary: Yukina didn’t normally befriend people, especially not boys, but there was something… different… about Masayoshi Imai. Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on when she met him.





	1. First meeting

**Author's Note:**

> "Masayoshi" is the "boy" name I picked for pre-Lisa Lisa, before she came out as trans.  
> I ba(s)sed (hehe) this name choice off of Masayoshi Yamashita, a Japanese heavy metal bassist.  
> "He first started playing bass in a band called Black Rose. A short time later, his childhood neighbour and close friend, Akira Takasaki, invited him to join Loudness in 1981."

Yukina didn’t normally befriend people, especially not boys, but there was something… different… about Masayoshi Imai. Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on when she met him.

Yukina was crying when her now-best-friend Masayoshi found her. They were neighbours, but Yukina was talking to a different neighbour. She’d asked to play with that neighbour’s kitty again, and the adult was explaining to her that the cat had been put down because it was very sick. 

Yukina’s crying had likely startled the whole street when it clicked that the kitty wasn’t ever coming back. Masayoshi had rushed out of his house to comfort her as soon as he heard her wailing.

“Hi, I’m Masayoshi Imai, what’s wrong?”  
“I’m Yukina Minato, and the kitty is gone!”  
“I’m sure it’ll come back!”  
“Ah, actually no. We had to put it down. The kitty was very sick, and it’s in a better place now, ok? It’s not coming back, I’m sorry.”  
“Oh. I’m sorry, that’s really sad! Poor kitty. Poor Yukina.”

Yukina had experienced a fresh burst of tears at that moment. Masayoshi had put a hand on her shoulder as reassurance. Yukina usually didn’t like people touching her, but Masayoshi was different. Masayoshi’s hand was warm and soft and gentle, and when she looked back, she saw that he was crying too.

“Do you want a hug?” He asked, wetness streaming down his face. 

Yukina normally didn’t, not from people other than her parents, but she accepted.

“Y-yes please.”

And they had hugged, sobs wracking their small bodies. Masayoshi had barely known the cat, but he seemed to understand Yukina’s pain almost perfectly.

“Do you want to see my kitty instead? His name is Ninja and he’s black and he loves to play and he’s really sweet!”  
“T-that sounds nice.”  
“Do you want to hold hands?”  
“Ok.”

Boys weren’t normally this careful, were they? She didn’t pay much attention, but she wasn’t blind. Nevertheless, she took his hand and followed him to the house right next to her own.

The smell of freshly-baked cookies hit her the second the door opened to his house.

“Mummy, this is Yukina Minato, she wants to play with Ninja!”  
“Oh, a new girlfriend? How cute! Yukina-chan, are you allowed to be out?”  
“I-I live next door, and my parents know I’m out to play with a kitty.”

She hadn’t been lying, of course. Her parents had just thought it was a different cat.

“Come right in then! Do you want some cookies? They’re almond cookies, Masayoshi made them with me! You don’t have any allergies, do you?”  
“N-no ma’am, I don’t have any allergies.”  
“Sit down then dear, I’ll bring them out.”

Yukina took a seat at the table with Masayoshi, waiting patiently for the cookies to arrive. When they did, she tasted one, and it was the most delectable cookie she’d ever had.

“Are they good? Did I do good?”  
“They’re excellent, Masayoshi-san.”  
“Just Masayoshi is fine!”  
“Masayoshi then.”

Yukina’s tears had mostly dried by that point, and the salty taste or crying was gone. The cookies were soft, with the toughness of the almonds balancing it out perfectly. She could never forget that taste, the warmth, the dash of spice, how it felt in her hands, how it felt in her mouth. She doubts she’ll ever forget it.

She wanted more, but she knew her parents would get mad if she had more than one. Plus, she hadn’t forgotten why she was there, meaning she was delighted when Masayoshi carried the squirming cat into the room with a handful of toys.

“Say ‘Hello, Yukina! Hello, Yukinya! Hehe!” Masayoshi had said, waving the cat’s paw for him.

Yukinya… she liked that.

The cat was tolerant, and playful indeed. Masayoshi explained that he’d named him “Ninja” because of his black fur and the way he pounced on the feather on a string, so they played with the feather on a string first. They enjoyed watching the kitty as he bounded around chasing it, grasping it with his tiny paws and kicking at it with his hind legs as he gnawed on the ball that the feather was attached to. Masayoshi showed her the tricks he’d learnt on controlling it, but it was nothing she didn’t already know. She was an expert, after all.

Then the two of them switched to a brightly-coloured ball with a bell inside, rolling it across the floor to one another while Ninja tried to intercept.

After that, they slowed down to just pat him, with the cat rubbing his soft cheeks against yukina’s fingers.

They played with Ninja for hours, Yukina keeping an eye on the time. She almost started crying again when it was time for her to go home, even though they lived next door to each other.

And so it was that visiting Ninja (and Masayoshi) became a daily occurrence for Yukina, only skipping days when one or both of the children had important things to do.

They learnt that their bedroom windows faced each other, and from the balconies especially, you could wave at each other. They started waving each other good morning and goodnight, even on days when Yukina couldn’t play with the kitty. 

Masayoshi continued to make cookies for her from time to time, they did their homework together, and eventually they played together even without the cat.

They became best friends, and not only because Yukina had no others.


	2. Trying it on

“What’s wrong, Masayoshi?”  
“I… I don’t think I want to be Masayoshi anymore actually.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean, I don’t totally know yet. I think… I think I want to be a girl?”

They had been sitting together, a bit older now, staring out at the setting sun from Masayoshi’s bedroom. The sun shone brightly, surrounded by colourful clouds.

“You want to be a girl?”  
“Well, kinda. I think maybe I just am one? Ah, but that’s kinda silly, right? I have boy parts.”  
“I don’t think it’s silly. If you want to be a girl, then you are one. Does it matter?”  
“It kinda does, actually. I’m really scared. I don’t want to be weird, and I’m terrified of telling my parents, and I’m worried I’ll lose all my friends.”  
“Well you won’t lose me. I’ll always be here for you.”

Masayoshi had buried her face in her hands.

“That’s really sweet… Thank you, Yukina. You really think I can be a girl?”  
“Of course you can, if you put your mind to it. Trust yourself. You’ve been thinking about this for quite some time, correct?”  
“Yeah, a few months. I didn’t know if anyone would be ok with it, but I trust you more than anyone right now. I know people call you mean and cold-hearted a lot, but you’re just honest, y’know? You’re really sweet, at least to me and Ninja. I’m rambling, sorry. I just really appreciate that you’re not making fun of me for this.”  
“I would never do that to you... You said you didn’t want to be Masayoshi anymore, so what should I call you?”  
“I’ve been looking at names and playing it off as coming up with them for characters, but I think I’ve narrowed it down.”

Her best friend took her down to the family computer, logged into her account, and pulled up her internet browser. It had a few tabs open, several on dress-up games, more on different names.

“The dress-up games are for the character. She has super long pink hair in a plait and two different coloured eyes and she can talk to animals and fire energy beams and she’s basically a superhero! She’s really popular, too!”  
“She looks cool. So what of the name?”  
“I’ve got a few, I still haven’t been able to pick one.”

Yukina’s best friend guided her through the open tabs.

Asuko  
Himeko  
Kumiko  
Chika  
Asuka  
Maria  
Fumiko  
Emiri  
Natsue  
Mamiko  
Lisa  
Miho  
Shiori

“That’s quite a few.”  
“Which do you like?”

Yukina had to think on this for a while. Her best friend watched her expression eagerly, which didn’t make it any easier.

“I like Emiri and Lisa.”  
“Out of those two, I think I prefer Lisa.”  
“Is it the one you want, though?”  
“I really really like it! Thanks for helping me choose, Yukina. I thought I was stuck, but I think I wanted Lisa all along.”  
“Are you going to spell it with kanji? What should it mean?”  
“I think I’ll just spell it with hiragana for now.”  
“Shall we head back up to your room then?”  
“Yeah!!”

The two had made their way back upstairs to the bedroom.

“So do you want me to call you Lisa then?”  
“Can we test it out first? I want to be sure.”  
“Very well then. Lisa, you’re a girl.”

Lisa was ecstatic, wriggling and grinning.

“You like it then?”  
“Yeah! Thank you so much! I like my new name, and I really like you saying it! Your voice is really nice, Yukina~”

Yukina would hope so, she’d been training it thoroughly for years even at that age. Even so, Yukina had felt warm in that moment. It wasn’t the heat of the day, either. It was friendship, as absurd as that might sound. She always felt different around Lisa, and it was always welcome.

“Ah, do you think I could pull off girl clothes though? I don’t know that they’d suit me, as much as I want them.”  
“You can pull anything off, Lisa. Like I said before, you can do what you really want to do if you put your mind to it. You… you always look nice, anyway.”

Lisa had made another excited sound when she heard her name, affirming that it was the right choice. Yukina had blushed slightly.

“Ahhh, now I want to wear cute things~”  
“Do you want to borrow some of my clothes and try them on?”  
“Yes please! Can we go now?”  
“It’s late, I think we’ll have to do it tomorrow-”  
“Please?”  
“We’ll ask our parents then.”  
“Ok!”

Lisa and Yukina went downstairs and found Lisa’s mum relaxing on the couch. Lisa still hadn’t gotten the smile off of her face, and that had made Yukina happy, too.

“Mum, can I go over to Yukina’s for a bit? I want to play games with her!”  
“Not all night, ok? You come back when it’s bedtime.”  
“Eight-thirty, ok! Thanks mum!”

They rushed outside and to Yukina’s house next, finding her parents easily.

“Can… can Masayoshi stay over for a bit? Not all night, just until eight-thirty.”  
“Have you done your homework?”  
“Yes”  
“Alright.”

Yukina had hated deadnaming her friend so soon after finding her new name, but it was out of necessity.

Once in her room, Yukina gave Lisa full reign on her closet. It was a small walk-in closet, and Lisa eagerly dove in while Yukina waited on her bed. Lisa came out holding a deep red dress to her chest.

“Do you want to try it on?”  
“Am I allowed to?”  
“Of course. I’ll turn around, put it on.”

Some time and fabric shuffling later, Yukina was allowed to face her best friend again.

“So? How do I look?”  
“You look beautiful, Lisa.”

Lisa became a blushing mess at that. She gave a twirl, watching the skirt flare around her waist with glee.

Lisa tried on many outfits after that, but in the end went with a red dress with the straps and flared skirt, worn with a frilly white shirt. It suited her, as much as Yukina’s clothes could do so.

“Do you think I could wear some accessories, too?”  
“Sure thing. Let me get them for you.”

Yukina had two pairs of clip-on earrings which Lisa tried, one with butterflies, one with flowers. Lisa preferred the flowers. She also had several hair clips. None of the scrunchies and hair lackies would fit much of Lisa’s short hair, but the clips looked cute. Lisa wore several at once, a red bow that kind of matched her dress, a black butterfly, a white flower, and many others, all crowded around her fringe in a swarm.

Eventually they calmed somewhat, sitting across from each other on Yukina’s bedroom floor.

“I love this.”  
“The outfit?”  
“Being a girl. I want to be like this forever, always, but… I know I can’t, and that’s sad.”  
“It is.”  
“Hey, Yukina? Can I have a hug please?”  
“Of course.”

It wasn’t just indulging a friend. She loved being so close to Lisa, she loved that she could be trusted like that.

They had parted just as there was a knock on the door. Lisa looked panicked.

“Yes?”  
“It’s almost eight-thirty, Masayoshi should get ready to go home now.”  
“Alright.”  
“I love you.”  
“I love you too, mum.”

Yukina’s mother’s footsteps echoed back down the hall, signalling that it was ok for Lisa to calm down. She was nervously laughing.

“That was close~”  
“We could’ve just said it was a punishment game.”  
“Yeah. I guess so.”

Lisa didn’t seem to like that, and Yukina didn’t know what to say.

Lisa changed out of Yukina/Lisa clothes and back into Masayoshi clothes.

At the door, Yukina had decided to lean in and whisper to her best friend.

“Goodnight, Lisa.”


End file.
